


Heart of Kerrigan

by AQA473



Category: StarCraft
Genre: Alcohol, Depictions of Zerg, F/F, Gross, I'd say romance but it's kerrigan, Organic Fluids, Slow Burn, it gets gross, like loads of zerg, no smut yet, not exactly the romantic type, they're in the leviathan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 15:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14115276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AQA473/pseuds/AQA473
Summary: Sgt. Hammer keeps her promise and gives the girls a drink on the house. Things get a little out of hand and Nova takes a visit to Kerrigan's leviathan. She learns more about Kerrigan than she ever thought she would.





	Heart of Kerrigan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sybariticfanfiction (SybariticReyna)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SybariticReyna/gifts).



> This was supposed to be half the length and a one-shot but I got carried away. A lot of it is spit-balling since we don't actually get to go on a tour of the leviathan. I haven't read the books, so if anyone sees anything that's false or isn't lore-consistent, let me know and I'll change it immediately. While this is based in the fantastic alternate universe where Co-op Missions take place, I want it to be as canon-compliant as possible. And, don't worry, I have plans and getting these two socially awkward nut cases together soon. Please enjoy.

Electricity jolted out in dangerous arcs, carving through decaying creep, burning the organic matter. The thrasher wailed, large claws scarring the ground as its own portal sucked it back into the void. It screeched, spraying Nova with mist as she fired a final round into its mouth. Its head buckled, claws relaxed, and it sunk into the void. The portal fizzled shut.

Purple zerglings and hydralisks slithered and scurried, dispatching Amon’s remaining forces. Nova pulled up her visor and wiped hair away from her sweat-speckled brow.

“ _Hoo-wee!_ ” Sgt. Hammer yipped over the radio comms. “ _And another one bites the metaphigical-but-not-so-metaphysical dust! They just keep comin’ back, don’t they? I’ll have my boys clean up that zerg moss so ya’ll can come back._ ”

“No need.”

Kerrigan walked up beside her. She didn’t carry a radio, but Nova could sense psionic waves transmitting from her. At this distance, she could hear her twice, which was twice too many.

“My brood’s picking it apart for me. You can stay in your metal box. I’m leaving.”

“ _Whoa, hey, no ya ain’t_.”

“Just try and stop me, pudgy.” Kerrigan crossed her arms. Her muscles flexed, their vibrant purple turning almost pink in the glow of Char.

“ _Ah promised ya’ll drinks, ‘member?_ ”

“So? I have better things to do than get drunk like some useless terran.”

“I’ll take you up on that,” Nova said. “Can I bring my team, too?”

“ _Everyone’s invited. That includes the zerg queenie_.”

Kerrigan walked away as her minions continued clean up. Several meters from Nova, she stopped, seeming to talk to air. Her hip cocked, and she swung her hand about as though she were explaining something. A pause. She threw her hand down and stepped on the ground. Her head bowed.

Her voice echoed in Nova’s head. “ _Fine. Let’s have this ‘drink.’_ ”

“ _Aw, yeah! Come on back to the pen, girls! Drinks are all over me!_ ”

“God, I hope not,” Nova said under her breath.

\---

Sgt. Hammer’s base smelled like charred meat, motor oil, and feet. It was a hangar with walls welded in to make rooms. The chairs and tables looked like metalworkers’ pet projects, made from scrap metal and broken machinery. The clientele looked even rougher.

The Hammer herself sat amongst her merry band at the far end of the bar. With a whoop, they all raised their mugs as Nova and Kerrigan’s parties entered. The room was filled with gruff mechanics, pilots, tank drivers, engineers, and any other kind of personnel needed to run a base on Char. Nova touched their thoughts, confirming her suspicions that few of them were sane.

Kerrigan’s brood rushed in, hydralisks and zerglings bounding and slithering past tables, knocking a few workers to the ground. No matter how much time passed, Nova could never get used to the sight of terrans and zerg not killing each other. One woman even scratched the underside of a zergling’s mandible.

“Ugh,” Kerrigan groaned.

“Problem?” Nova said.

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“Drinking isn’t something you ‘get over with.’ Live a little.”

“That sounds almost comical coming from you.”

Nova sneered, but Kerrigan was already several feet ahead of her. She sighed and followed, her Ghost unit dispersing at the wave of her hand.

Two bartenders stood behind the counter, a man and woman, rushing about hurriedly as they got as much low-grade liquor as possible onto the counter. Sgt. Hammer grabbed a metal cup full of brown liquid and shoved it into Nova’s hands.

“Fresh from the brewery, little lady! That’ll put some color in your skin, if nothing else.”

“Oh ‘har, har,’ Bama.” She took a swig and instantly gagged, barely managing to down the putrid swill. “Oh, God!” She grabbed the counter. “I think I’m seeing stars.”

“Ha, ha! Well, don’t look so scared, Kerrie! Take a round!”

Kerrigan blinked. “I am not ‘scared,’ and calling me that is detrimental to your health. I’m not here because I want to be, so I will not be drinking. Let the humans waste away with it.”

“Yer human too, Kerrie.”

Kerrigan sighed.

“Yeah,” Nova coughed. She pounded her chest a few times, forcing down another swig. “Give it a shot.”

“Now, that’s an idear!” Hammer slammed the counter. “Hey, Sophie! Get one o’ them shot glasses. Yeah, the- oh, what? We only got one left? Well, get it out here! Shit! Ha, ha!”

After a moment, a tiny, cracked shot glass slid across the counter. A clear brown liquid rocked at the bottom of it. Nova grinned as she took another drink from her own cup. She nearly retched.

“Please tell me why I should feel compelled to drink _that_ ,” Kerrigan said.

“Manners,” Sgt. Hammer said, all mirth gone from her voice.

With a groan, Kerrigan grabbed the glass and turned around, elbow on the counter. A few faces turned to watch the Queen of Blades, facing the interior of the room.

“Thought you didn’t want it, Kerrigan?” Nova said.

“If I must drink this poison, I’ll give them a show of it. I am still a _little_ human.”

She raised the glass, and the whole room cheered. In one smooth motion, she turned it upside down, swallowed the contents, and placed it back on the bar.

“If I cared for flavor anymore, I would say that’s horrible.”

Laughs rang out, Sgt. Hammer slapping her knee. Everyone went back to their drinks and the cacophony returned.

Nova drank silently, finally managing to drink without feeling vomit coming up her throat.

“Another!” Hammer beckoned over Sophie, who filled the shot glass again.

Kerrigan groaned. “Again?”

“Only those ninnies in the core worlds stop at one. Another!” Hammer repeated.

“What? You a light-weight, Kerrigan?” Nova said. She grinned as she sipper her cup.

“You can’t goad me, Nova.”

“Oh, yeah? You had one shot already. What’s another to the Queen of the Zerg?”

“If it’ll shut you two up,” she said, scooping up the glass a second time.

She drank it in a single motion, planting it on the bar again.

“Ha, ha, yeah! Kerrigan, the party animal!”

“Oh, please. Besides, I thought you said only the first rounds were on you.”

“Call it a gift.”

“For what?” Kerrigan asked.

“Fer bein’ so charming!” Sgt. Hammer laughed.

Nova snickered, covering her mouth.

Kerrigan glared. “Sophie.” She tapped her glass.

Sophie came over with a grin. “I’ll leave this here for ya, yer majesty,” Sophie said, placing the glass bottle beside the shot glass after refilling it. She went back to serving and conversing with the other clients, but her eyes occasionally glanced back at the odd trio of commanders.

“I’ll refill it for you,” Nova said.

Nova drank two pints over the next half-hour and felt only slightly tipsy. Her Ghosts returned, much in the same state. No one else left the bar in all that time, getting only more packed as the night went on. Kerrigan took shots until she was sliding down the bar.

Nova had done research on Sarah Kerrigan’s time as a Ghost, being one of the legends of the force, someone to admire and aspire to be, but nowhere in her records was there any mention of times when she drank. Maybe that made her susceptible to the effects of alcohol, or maybe it was her zerg mutation, but whatever the cause, Nova nearly fell over watching Kerrigan trying to stand.

“I-I got this.” Kerrigan’s wings clattered on the floor as she attempted to use them to push herself up. With uneasy force, they merely slid across the metal, and she crumpled to the floor in a heap.

The entire bar exploded, more than a few people crying. Drinks splashed as some spit-laughed.

Nova inhaled harshly, trying to keep herself from laughing too hard.

Kerrigan, the dreaded Queen of Blades, violet goddess of death, covered head to toe in spikes and hard muscle, couldn’t even stand on her own two legs. She grabbed a stool next to her, only managing in pulling it down with her. A hydralisk slunk over to her, but it had no thumbs and she still couldn’t keep a steady grip, falling over its tail.

Something about the scene suddenly made Nova sober up. The whole bar was in an uproar, laughing and pointing. Even Nova’s unit were having fits, smiling so wide their mouths hurt. Nova reached out psionically and realized this was more than just laughing at a drunk person. This was payback.

It wasn’t so long ago that Kerrigan’s brood had terrorized the Dominion. They swept across terran colonies like a plague, overlords blotting out the sky, creep and hives infecting planets like an unstoppable cancer.

With Amon reaching into the Milky Way from the Void, Kerrigan had turned her eyes away from human genocide, and her brood was too valuable an ally to deny her assistance against Amon. But these people still demanded justice. They couldn’t stab her, shoot her, maim her, and all were too afraid to even spit in her face or insult her directly. What they could do, however, was laugh at her curled up like a drunken ball of helplessness. They never thought they’d see her like this, and they were drinking it up. Pictures, laughs, cruel jokes, and more spilled from the spontaneous audience.

Nova’s stomach twisted. She finished her drink and put it on the counter. She used her chip to pay the tabs of her and her crew, having gone past Hammer’s first round, and walked over to the sunken Queen of Blades.

“Thanks for the rounds, Bama, but we’re gonna head out for the night. It’s been fun.”

Sgt. Hammer’s face fell. Even she had less than benevolent intentions. Nova just shrugged.

“Fine. Hey, you gonna pay for that!?” She shouted at a man a few feet away.

Nova stooped down, minding Kerrigan’s wings as she wrapped her arm around her back.

“Don’t-don’t you, ugh…” Kerrigan protested, pushing against the ground futilely.

“Shh, just hold onto me.” Nova swung Kerrigan’s arm over her should and held her hand. “Okay, hold on.”

Kerrigan’s hand squeezed back just a little.

Using her legs, Nova pulled them both up. Kerrigan couldn’t quite stand up, but was finally able to grab the top of the hydralisk’s carapace. It chittered as it moved to better support her. Nova stood straighter, some of the weight alleviated.

The entire bar booed, some throwing napkins and bottle caps at Nova. Her team immediately dropped their drinks and rushed to the assailants. They didn’t attack, but it stopped the patrons from throwing anything else.

“We got you, Commander.”

“Thanks. See ya, Bama.”

Sgt. Hammer only offered a curt nod.

Outside, Nova took a deep breath, and promptly coughed afterward, inhaling a good amount of ash and fumes. It smelled better than the bar, and was more pleasant to breath in, though no less painful. She could still hear the din of laughs and shouts from beyond the sealed door, but only just.

Her Ghosts walked close to her, eyeing Kerrigan’s brood closely. They didn’t trust her, either. The zerglings brushed against them roughly, putting them slightly off-balance, but never touching Nova.

Kerrigan’s head hung low, bobbing gently. Nova could barely see the corner of her eye, half-open, eye glassed over. She would occasionally try to walk with Nova, then quickly lose balance, forcing Nova to overcompensate to hold her up. One of the Ghosts giggled, and Nova glared in her direction. She looked away, grimacing.

“Just drop her here,” one of the men said. “Sure her bugs can drag her back. We should be heading to base soon.”

“Sorry to break it to you, sergeant, but she’s my partner, and we actually can’t leave without her. The rest of you can head back to the ship; I’ll cover her from here. I know you all get squeamish around zerg.”

“But, commander-”

“Did I fucking stutter? If you’re gonna complain or insult, I don’t want you here. Now go back to the ship.”

He looked her in the eye, watching her irises, glancing down at Kerrigan’s limp form. He sighed.

“Yes, commander. Unit, let’s move out.”

They said their goodbyes and left in the direction of their shuttle. Nova deflated a bit, her adrenaline falling. She wanted to go back to the comfort of her ship, take a shower, eat something not smeared with gasoline, and breath purified air. But, she had a duty to perform. With a grunt, she heaved Kerrigan up more and turned to the left, away from her shuttle.

At the end of the platform was an overlord, drifting lazily overhead. It grumbled as it sensed its queen nearing. It descended, taloned legs clacking onto the hard metal. Nova had a hard time breathing out here, but the zerg were unaffected. Char was one of the zerg’s core worlds, and it showed. They were completely comfortable here. There was a reason Amon had chosen to send his brood here instead of Mobius or the Golden Armada.

As she drew closer, Nova realized just how massive overlords were. From a distance, floating so high in the sky, they seem so much smaller. They were like small houses, elevated by gases and psionic energies. It amazed Nova that the Dominion wasn’t more scared of these things. Of course, seeing a fleet of them in orbit was always nightmare-inducing.

A hole opened on the side of it, a bizarre twisting of flesh and cartilage. The hydralisks and zerglings entered quickly, filling out the flying behemoth. Nova swallowed and walked up to it slowly. Kerrigan mumbled something, but Nova couldn’t hear it over the crackling of the molten landscape.

Entering the overlord was like walking on raw meat slabs, but less slippery. It was spongy and tough, gritted so the brood wouldn’t fall walking over it. After all, overlords were used as mid-combat troop transport.

Inside, it was humid and smelled absolutely awful. More meat comparisons filled Nova’s head, but she found herself pushing all of it to the back of her mind to keep herself from vomiting. She might have to be around this “architecture” for a little while longer.

No seats, which made sense, so she simply stood to the side with the hydralisk as the hole closed. She expected total darkness, but there was a dim glow. It was orange, like the warm light from outside. It seemed the lighter pustules on the overlord’s exterior were thin, allowing in light. Not enough to read anything, but enough to see.

In a loud croak, the overlord rose. The sudden jump made Nova wobble, but her training and quick reflexes kept her standing, even on such uneven “flooring.”

If the brood was incensed or upset by the presence of a human in their midst, they didn’t show it. Did zerg even care for that sort of thing? They seemed to be having a good time at the bar, but that was more akin to dogs being around people rather than any sentient response. None of them eyed her, simply huddling on the ground to rest or hiss at each other. Was it language or- Nova shook her head. Thinking about it would only confuse her. She didn’t come here as a scientist. Let those eggheads analyze these sorts of things.

The flight to the leviathan in orbit felt so long, and Nova was already getting tired of standing. But the alternative was so gross. Even in this dim and fading light, it glistened. What did she expect? She was literally inside a living thing. It pulsed and undulated, likely multiple heartbeats all at once, muscles contracting and expanding as it rose through the atmosphere. Well, maybe her suit would be enough.

“Ah!” Nova let her legs buckle, taking her to the ground. She wanted to fall gently, but the weight of Kerrigan and having not bent her knees in a while made that too difficult. Kerrigan only groaned as she hit the ground. The hydralisk didn’t fall with them, only shaking slightly in response.

Kerrigan’s arm fell from Nova’s and she carefully let her down. At this angle, the only natural direction to go was directly on Nova’s lap. She breathed deeply, and let it happen. Kerrigan’s hard hair tendrils hit her legs first, feeling like strands of plastic beads. Even over her suit, she could feel their weight. How could Kerrigan manage a head of this every day?

Then, her head. Her cheek pressed against Nova’s thigh. The thick strands fell over Kerrigan’s face. After a moment of thought, Nova pulled them back. She was sleeping, or at least resting. She considered saying something, to keep Kerrigan a wake, but thought better of it. Disturbing the drunk Queen of the Zerg was probably not a good idea.

She looked so human. No scowl, no furrowed brow, and at this proximity, Nova could ignore all the spikes and purple flesh and hard carapace covering the rest of Kerrigan’s form. Here, she was human. Smooth, light skin, speckled with thin lines of purple light. She even had human ears, untouched during her mutation into the Queen of Blades. Nova could see Sarah in this face, even if just barely. Was she still a Ghost? Nova touched her cheek. Soft, just like a normal human’s. Just like hers.

“Mh,” Kerrigan mumbled.

Nova immediately pulled her hand back, arms in the air. She held her breath.

“Jim, don’t, hm…”

A few more seconds passed, light dimming further, pitching them almost completely in darkness. The purple glow of Kerrigan’s skin lit her face. Her eyes remained closed and she said no more.

“Jim, huh?” Nova whispered. “Heh, Raynor sure knows how to treat a lady, I guess.”

\---

Nova was thankful she couldn’t see the leviathan as they entered it. It was fascinating getting to see an overlord up close, albeit a bit gross, but seeing a leviathan right in front of her face might’ve made her wet herself. Even in orbit, they were a daunting sight. They were larger than protoss motherships and had a nasty habit of shoving cave-sized tubes into terran battlecruisers to deposit entire legions of zerg. She’d stick with the overlord.

The atmosphere changed as they entered, sound returning, but heavy and dulled. And something big, like a giant heartbeat. Nova shivered at the sound. She jostled Kerrigan’s shoulder, being careful not to tug on the spikes.

“Kerrigan,” Nova said quietly.

Her eyes flashed open, searched silently, then she sighed with a blink.

“Where…”

“Your leviathan.”

She looked up. “What. Nova…”

Nova smiled sheepishly.

“Why are you- oh, Christ.” Kerrigan tried standing and only managed to fall off Nova’s lap and onto the overlord’s meaty floor.

“Let me help you up.”

“No, no, don’t.”

Nova grabbed Kerrigan’s arm and pulled her up, this time with a little more assistance from Kerrigan. The hydralisk clicked back under Kerrigan’s other arm. She actually stood, somewhat.

“Oh, God. There’s an army in here.”

“No, Kerrigan. There’s ten of us.”

“Ten? What did I drink?”

“I don’t know and I don’t think you _want_ to know.”

“I’m never listening to Sgt. Hammer ever again.”

Nova walked them out after the rest of Kerrigan’s contingent slithered out. The hydralisk hissed quietly, watching the rest of its kin disappear down the cavernous pits of the leviathan.

Kerrigan stroked its head softly. “You can go.”

Like a bullet, it zipped from under her arm, zig-zagging down the hall into the darkness.

The… hall, for lack of a better term, was a giant tube, stretching up at least three stories, and the walls pulsated. It wasn’t made of the same material as the overlord. It was darker, and thicker, Nova could sense, and moved a lot less than the overlord’s interior. The end of the tube split two ways. Kerrigan’s small force that had accompanied them had disappeared down the left.

Nova started walking forward, her feet squishing slightly with every step. It wasn’t too hard to maintain balance, and Kerrigan was much easier to hold than before.

“Stop, stop.”

Nova stopped.

“Go- go back. I’ll go… from here.”

Nova let go.

Kerrigan immediately collapsed. She lunged out her arms to catch herself, but her weakened arms merely cushioned the blow as her face hit the tough flesh of the leviathan.

“Okay, princess?” Nova said, hiding a chuckle.

“Just pick me the fuck up,” Kerrigan groaned, her cheek planted on the floor.

Nova hoisted her up once more and they continued down. Kerrigan gestured to the left.

“We entered from the starboard side, right? Wouldn’t the bridge, or whatever passes for it here, be down the right passage? Assuming the leviathan’s insides are in any way logical.”

“Yes, but I need to see Abathur.”

“Oh, no.”

“I need- urp. This to end.”

Nova couldn’t help but laugh. “Honey, you’re not gonna sober up from anything Abby’s gonna do for you.”

“You don’t know zerg.”

They walked down at an achingly slow pace. By the time they got there, Kerrigan would already be sober. For being the all-powerful ruler of the most devastating force the galaxy had ever seen, Kerrigan could sure be a baby.

“Hey, can I-”

“No small-talk,” Kerrigan interrupted. “I haven’t dealt with that since I was human, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

They continued in silence. The bowels of the leviathan only got more disgusting as they progressed. The “hall” they went down suddenly had holes and tunnels and pustules and all other sorts of gross organic things delving into and poking out from the walls. Some were even entirely submerged, going below the ground level of the central tube, but leaving a sizeable puddle of something sizzling in the middle of it. Nova walked gingerly through it, praying her boots would be enough to withstand whatever it was.

Mutalisks flew overhead, zerglings rushed back and forth, and even an ultralisk stomped by, walking around them, knowing exactly who Nova carried. None of the animalistic zerg consciously paid much attention to them, but they knew who was there. They acknowledged their queen on an almost instinctual level, not turning to her, but respecting her space, and undoubtedly willing to do her bidding at a moment’s notice.

It baffled Nova. Kerrigan was _human_. Sure, she had skeletal wings, which currently dragged across the wet floor, and hard spikes surrounded by deep purple muscles, but her form was visually human. These zerg they walked amongst were monsters, something out of a fairytale or a nightmare. That they would follow Kerrigan, that she would want to lead them, was almost unfathomable. Queen of the Zerg, a human.

Nova looked at her face, stoic and resolute. Her expression wasn’t alien. What made her so monstrous? Humans hated and feared her. Even Nova had been sent to kill her, after she’d been made more human than she’d been in a long time, since before her original corruption. Nova felt compelled to carry out her orders, not just because it was her job, or because she swore an oath to uphold the Dominion’s rule, but because it was personal. Like everyone, she’d lost much to the zerg. As an agent of the Dominion, she felt compelled to avenge her government and her way of life. Kerrigan needed to pay. But she didn’t have to look her in the eyes. She never got the chance.

Now, here, after seeing her get humiliated and used as a joke, she seemed so… _fragile_. Nova touched her mind psionically. Kerrigan looked up at her sideways.

“What are you doing, Nova?” Her voice was soft but dangerous. For some reason, hearing her name come from Kerrigan made Nova feel, well, something. She pushed it back.

“Are you human?” She mentally kicked herself in the head. Years of serving the military in covert operations did havoc on one’s social ability.

“No. Were you not listening to me earlier?”

“But, you look human. Human arms, human legs, human eyes, human lips.” Nova stopped, exhaling softly. “What makes you zerg?”

“Attitude.” Kerrigan faced forward again.

 _Attitude_. Is that all it took?

They finally reached the hatchery, and it was a sight to behold. It was something out of the history books, a swamp of prehistoric proportions. Massive swarm hosts and ultralisks stomped far away like mighty mountains. Fleets of vipers and mutalisks filled the air, reaching all the way up to the ceiling that seemed so far away. Eggs and pools stretched as far as the eye could see, herds of zerglings, aberrations, and even some creatures Nova had never seen wallowed in the wretched pools. It also stunk something fierce. It wasn’t decay, it was a horrible mixture of the primal chemicals that birthed all organic life, blended into one massive slurry of disgusting.

Nova gagged as she dragged Kerrigan up to what she assumed was Abathur. She had served alongside him against Amon’s forces, but he didn’t grace the field with his presence. She only knew his voice and his skills as a tactician and… mutition? Mutation engineer? She viewed him as the equivalent of a mechanic of some sort, maybe a bio-engineer. She wasn’t too surprised to see his actual appearance.

He was a worm with barbed tentacles sticking from his back. His front had multiple arms, two of which rubbed together like a maniacal genius which, Nova supposed, he was. Most notably, however, was what Nova assumed was his mouth. It looked like a human woman’s vagina. She’d seen Georgia O’Keefe paintings, but this was on a whole other level of obvious. If Kerrigan wasn’t human, did she not recognize this?

He turned to the two women, green sacs on the side of his head pulsating. “Queen approaches, held by… human, female, weak, psionically enhanced, augmented, weaker than queen.”

“Thanks. Bit of a blunt one, isn’t he?”

“It’s the only thing he knows how to do,” Kerrigan said, trying to stand straight.

“Queen affected. Inspecting. Alcohol content identified. Zerg sequences vulnerable, no need for tolerance. Consumption useless.”

“Stop with the lecture, worm. I want it removed.”

“And I told her to wait it out,” Nova said.

“Human speaks, not expert, not intelligent.”

“Ouch!”

“Quiet, both of you. God, this hurts. Just, get it out.”

“Already in blood stream, cannot remove. Only enhance tolerance; require essence.”

“Ergh,” Kerrigan moaned.

“Oh, c’mon, doc. Isn’t there something you can do for her?”

“Inspecting strands. Understood. Can inject toxin, combat alcohol, or enhance, unknown. Requires experimentation.”

“Just put it in me.”

Nova resisted the urge to be a child.

Abathur didn’t hesitate, one of his back limbs extending forward. It pierced Kerrigan’s chest, directly over her heart. It penetrated her purple flesh, the green sac on the limb contracting once, then it retracted. If it hurt, Kerrigan made no sign of it. Her mind was blocked, so Nova couldn’t read her emotions.

“Injection complete. Must observe, discover if success; can begin replicating strands. If failure, attempt alternative chemical.”

“No, no time. Just let me… whoa. I don’t… Nova, I can’t-” She fell to the floor.

“Kerrigan!” Nova dove down, wrapping her arms around Kerrigan’s torso. She was warm, even through the carapace. “She’s burning up!”

“Toxin failed. Observing. Alcohol in blood increased, side affect of toxin, interaction with queen’s blood, unlike zerg, unlike human. Unique. Unpredictable. Must find new essence, create new strands, start anew.”

“Yeah, maybe later, vagina-face. C’mon, Kerrie. Let’s get you up.”

“Heh, heh, I knew a Carrie. Carrie Almond. Almond? Almondo? Hee, hee! She… she didn’t like me. Said I- said I was too serious. And, and… mmh…”

“Shh. Okay, we tried it the zerg way, now we do it the human way. Where is her, uh, room? Place where she, like, spends time alone. Away from all of you.”

“Queen’s chambers, above nerve center, leviathan’s head. Izsha can direct.”

“Izsha?”

“ _Yes?_ ” A soft, feminine voice filled her head.

Nova stood, dragging Kerrigan’s very limp form with her. She couldn’t stand straight, and had a hard time standing at all without that hydralisk.

“Well, um, thanks for nothing, Abby.”

“Predict your absence, rejoice.”

“Asshole.”

Nova made her way to the exit, maybe. She prayed it was, anyway. Without Kerrigan’s instruction, she was well and truly lost.

“ _How may I assist the one who carries our queen?_ ”

“You Izsha?” Nova asked. She could communicate psionically with this creature, but it, or she, reacted to Nova’s voice, and she preferred talking. She didn’t get to do it too often.

“ _I am joined with the leviathan and serve as the queen’s counsel. I serve the queen until death._ ”

“Okaaay, not what I asked, but that works. Where is her room?”

“ _The Queen’s Chambers… listen._ ”

“Listen? Listen to-”

Images filled her mind, feelings and sounds, tastes and textures, as though she had actually been to these places. Tubes, bones, organic structures along a path. As soon as it had come, it was gone. She gasped, taking deep breaths. She’d never felt something like that, something so psionically potent.

This connection had let her see Izsha, as well. She, too, was worm-like, but almost aquatic in form. She was literally attached to the leviathan, not a guest or occupant, but an actual part of the sizeable space-faring behemoth. And she was strikingly human, at least in the face. Eyes, lips, teeth, even a protrusion from her human-like scalp that mimicked hair. She was, in a word, beautiful. Nova shook her head. Any more time around zerg and she’d end up like Kerrigan.

With a sigh, Nova started her trek. It wasn’t any less gross, and actually got worse. Bones protruded from walls, sacs hung from the ceiling, and she was pretty sure something burst down one of the tubes. Zerg filled the smaller spaces, tiny things she’d never seen before. Workers? Not drones, tinier. Like zerg-mites. Then, there were snake-like things, slithering about and vanishing into holes and ducts. It made Nova’s skin crawl, reminded of days in jungles and forests, surrounded by all manners of insects and creepy crawlies she would rather forget. They even crawled over the walls.

Every step became more difficult. Rather than improving, Kerrigan seemed to be getting more drunk. Whatever Abathur had given her was increasing the alcohol level in Kerrigan’s blood. With zergs’ susceptibility to the substance, Nova found herself fearing for Kerrigan’s life. The zerg queen’s life? How laughable. And yet, that was how she felt.

“Nooovaaa,” Kerrigan sang. Her free arm swung like a child’s, almost driving Nova off-balance.

“Whaaat?” Nova asked, using a voice one would use with a toddler.

“I don’t- I don’t wanna…”

“You don’t wanna go to your room?”

“See Izsha! She’s so mean to me! And, and Zagara! Have you seen her? I think she wants my brood.”

“I see.”

“I don’t think you do see, Nooovaaa.”

Nova laughed, unable to cover her mouth. This felt so unreal.

“Nova. Nooova. Is that, a star nova? A supernova? Do you explode?”

Nova grinned. “Some might say that. I don’t think so, though. What do you think?”

“I think you don’t get enough credit.” Kerrigan looked up at Nova from her slouched position. For a zerg, she acted surprisingly human when intoxicated.

“Knew you should’ve just waited it out.”

“No, no, you’re getting off-topic. Nova!”

“What?”

“You. Don’t. Um. Credit! You deserve it, you know.”

“Oh, do I, now?”

They emerged into another chamber, now free of the incessant movement of those insect-like zerg. This place seemed damper. She’d take moisture over bugs any day. She heaved Kerrigan up, turned around, and went down the passage. As they progressed, it got so dark that the only illumination came from Nova’s armor and Kerrigan’s body. The blue and violet hues mixed together beautifully.

“People are mean to you.”

“People? What people?”

“Stukov. He doesn’t like your, um, what did he call it, mudom operative.”

“Hm.” What the hell was Stukov’s problem? She used to like him, too. So much for that.

“He thinks you’re- you’re rash, and silly.”

“He called me silly?”

“No, but it sounded like that.”

Nova laughed, eyes shutting as her chest heaved.

“It’s not that funny!” Kerrigan whined.

“No, but you are!”

“Nooo…”

She drifted off suddenly, voice tapering off into unintelligible murmurs. Nova smiled. How delightful. She was such a kid.

Every step was a gamble. Her peak physical form was the only thing keeping Kerrigan’s heavy mass off the ground, and she couldn’t even see where they were going. Her mind radiated with images of purple light and swirling gas, and could sense it being very close. But all she saw was darkness. Did Kerrigan subject herself to this every day? Zerg queen or no, Kerrigan walked in a living nightmare every day. Did she even notice; was it a conscious thought that she existed in pure madness? Some would say she deserved it.

Nova looked down at her. Her eyes were invisible in the dark, but her cheeks radiated, like a painting, glowing in the black. She was so beautiful. Is this what Raynor saw in her, or had once seen?

Without warning, the ground gave way. Some organic hatch opened beneath their feet and they plummeted. Nova screamed, falling into the unknown.

She grunted as they hit the ground, scream cut off. She released Kerrigan, the two separating in the fall. Nova groaned, grabbing her side. Opening her eyes, she saw. There was light, but no visible source. There was just a soft, purple glow that permeated through the whole space, a space filled with gas and mist. Kerrigan’s room. They made it!

“Kerrigan! We’re here!” She crawled over to Kerrigan, who had been rudely awakened.

“Ugh…”

“Don’t talk. Here, give me your hand. No, your other one. Okay, now hold tightly.” With a tug, they both rose, though Nova had to catch Kerrigan just as they stood.

Upon closer inspection, the room was a gaseous chamber filled with odd, floating organisms, and various sacs and protrusions dotted the space’s floor and ceiling. One such protrusion was longer than the rest, of comparable size to a bed. Bed or no, it would suffice. Nova maneuvered her way to the biomass and gently placed Kerrigan on it. She laid back with a sigh, her hair tendrils cascading out over the undulating material.

She was gorgeous. Her mouth lolled open, mouthing tiny, silent words, eyes closed. One clawed hand lay beside her, pinching the air, and the other on her belly, resting as peacefully as her. Nova straightened her legs out so they weren’t hanging off the “bed.” Nova sat nearby, sinking into the meat. It felt like a water bed filled with ground beef. But, if Kerrigan was comfortable, then it was good enough.

It occurred to Nova that this was likely the only bed-like structure in the entire leviathan. Unlike its other inhabitants, Kerrigan was human. No, she was zerg. Nova dabbed at her chin, her lips. No, she was human. The spike on her shoulder quivered, like an insect carapace or tree barb. No, no, she was neither. Kerrigan was her own being, held between worlds unlike anything before or after her. Even Stukov was just an infested human, still wearing his UED coat. Kerrigan was so different, and so _her_.

Nova removed a glove, feeling the moist air. Invisible bacteria clung to her skin. She could sense their psionic signatures, and they were harmless. In fact, they nurtured and healed. Kerrigan likely came here to recover after particularly difficult encounters, not that she would ever admit to it. She was infallible, after all. Nova looked at her face. Infallible…

She swept her thumb over Kerrigan’s lips. Smooth, just like hers. No lipstick, nothing artificial, pure genetic perfection. Her chin, her nose, all smooth. She touched the tiny spikes of soon-to-be hair protruding from her forehead. They were far more pliable than Nova had assumed. Almost like hair, but like a hair exoskeleton. They felt pleasant on Nova’s skin, smooth but hard, like polished onyx. Her hand swept down, following the contours of Kerrigan’s face. Smooth, rigid, hard, soft, all Kerrigan.

Kerrigan’s eyes opened, searched the empty hair, and shut.

Again, Nova pulled away, hiding her hand between her thighs.

 “No Jim?” Nova asked.

“There never is.”

Nova watched Kerrigan’s chest rise and fall, with all the appearance of a human torso. She tangled a clawed hand in her alien dreadlocks.

“How, uh, how are you feeling?”

Kerrigan snorted, looking up at the ceiling. “Fine. In fact, you can leave now.”

Nova put her bare hand on the bed. It was veiny and tough, but didn’t feel gross. She could sleep on this. Better than the ground, for sure.

Kerrigan looked down at her. “I won’t repeat myself.”

“You said I _can_ leave, not that I _have_ to.”

Kerrigan sat up. Their faces were only inches apart now.

“Nova,” Kerrigan said. “Thank you for taking me back here. Now, please leave.”

“Why are you waiting for Raynor?”

Kerrigan didn’t immediately respond. Nova looked away at the wall, a tapestry of cords and gas sacs. Did Kerrigan keep personal items here? The thought was intriguing.

“That’s none of your business.”

“And why not?” Nova asked. Despite her words, she still didn’t have the confidence to face her. Kerrigan’s leg brushed the top of her hand.

“Because it’s _my_ business.”

“So you _do_ wait for him.”

Kerrigan swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Just as she straightened out, she clasped her head and fell to her knees.

“Oh, fuck, shit…”

Nova laughed and stooped down to grab her. Kerrigan knocked her hands away.

“Please, Nova, leave. This isn’t… ow…” She sunk lower until she lay flat on the ground.

“Kerrigan, let me stay here. At least for the night. I can help you, I-I’ll even be quiet. Just, let me be around you. For a while longer.” The words flung from her like blood from an open wound, pouring until she bled out. Her body tensed. She couldn’t believe how badly she wanted this.

“How pitiful.”

Nova said nothing as Kerrigan ran her hands over her face, eyes shut tight. Her legs rubbed together, and then she finally relaxed with a sigh.

She reached a single hand towards Nova. Nova accepted it with a smile.

She helped the Queen of the Zerg back onto her bed, laying her head on a lump at the back that likely served as a pillow. It molded to match the contours of her dreadlocks.

Nova returned to her seat beside Kerrigan’s spiked legs.

“Thanks,” Nova said.

“You said you would be quiet.” Kerrigan’s tone was soft.

Nova smirked and pushed Kerrigan’s feet up so she could fall back onto the bed. It undulated under her momentarily before stabilizing. Kerrigan crossed her legs over Nova’s belly, who giggled, covering her mouth.

The two women lay in silence, listening to the heartbeat of the leviathan, the blood pumping through its body. The spikes on Kerrigan’s legs only went along the sides facing outwards. The undersides were smooth muscle. Nova breathed deeply, feeling the weight of those legs rise and fall with her breath.

Nova felt eyes watching her. She looked over to see Kerrigan staring back. She said nothing, her purple eyes dulled through the violet gas surrounding them. Nova threaded the fingers of her bare hand through the spikes on Kerrigan’s calf. They were hard and cold, sharp to the touch, a complete contrast to her face.

“Are you trying to make this awkward?”

Nova said nothing, inspecting the spikes more closely. They were bone, had to have been, but felt like metal, tough as Nova’s breastplate and boots. But, unlike Nova’s armor, they were a part of Kerrigan, as much as her skin and her eyes. There was no taking these sharp objects off when going to bed, taking a shower, enjoying a quiet evening alone. Nova’s grip tightened on the spikes.

“Fine, do as you like,” Kerrigan said. The probing eyes left her.

Nova relaxed, but her heart sunk slightly. She looked back, hoping to find that gaze. Kerrigan’s eyes were closed as she breathed softly, her hands over her belly. Like an ordinary woman.

Nova watched, feeling the motions of the bed, Kerrigan’s breaths, the bacteria in the air, and her eyes drifted shut.

\---

Nova jolted up, colonies of bacteria flying from her face before dissipating in the air. A sharp jolt pinched her hip, a small alarm system built into her armor for precisely such an occasion as this. It always woke her up, but always hurt. She glanced around. Still in Kerrigan’s room, the light unchanged, as though no time had passed. But Kerrigan was gone. She sighed.

Nova stood up, wiped her hand off before replacing the glove, and lowered her visor. It flickered to life, the blue-black screen fizzling. A tiny lightning bolt was in the top right-hand corner of her HUD. She flicked her eye up to it and a message opened. It was audio.

“Commander, this is Stone. We’re pulling out, with or without you. We’re needed back in Dominion space. Amon’s attempting to open portals in residential districts and we can’t wait around. You have five minutes. Stone, out.”

Time sent was two minutes ago. Nova cursed under her breath, walking to the… exit. There was no door, no stairs, no elevator or even a pole. Just a vent-hatch thing overhead. It was four triangular flaps all connecting at the center, sealing perfectly when flattened. She looked up at it, hands on her hips. She’d try a jump.

Nope, nope, ow, that only got her lower. She checked her gear to see that, no, she didn’t bring her grapple gun with her. She did go to a bar, after all. She stroked her face, bracing the bridge of her nose. With a heavy sigh, she rang up Stone on her radio.

“Stone, this is Agent Terra. Proceed without me. Over and out.” She cut the comms, not quite ready to explain her predicament. But, whatever, she’d been in worse spots. Perhaps not less embarrassing, but definitely more dangerous.

After five more minutes of trying to get through the elevated hatch, she quit, out of breath and quite sweaty. The room was hot, humid, full of bacteria, and her suit wasn’t cooperating. It needed a charge after the mission on Char and she’d elected to opt out of that particular necessity.

She returned to the bed and flung herself on it. It smelled like her. The unmistakable stench of zerg, a certain raw meat, animal-type smell, but also human oil and skin. If she wasn’t careful, she’d fall asleep here again.

She sat up and reached out psionically. She couldn’t detect Kerrigan, but the woman tended to shroud her presence. Instead, Nova reached out to someone hopefully more predictable.

“ _Izsha, was it?_ ”

“ _Hello, human. You haven’t left yet._ ”

“ _No, I haven’t but I tried to. I, uh, found Kerrigan’s room, but now I can’t get out._ ”

“ _Not surprising,_ ” Izsha said. There was a certain level of amusement in her projected voice.

“ _It kinda sucks, can I get out?_ ”

“ _Not without help. The leviathan isn’t for terrans._ ”

“ _Too bad, I’m here. Now how do I get out?_ ”

“ _Wait a moment._ ”

Nova tapped her fingers on the bed. It was getting increasingly comfortable the longer she sat on it. Was there a washroom on board?

“ _Nova Terra?_ ”

“ _Yes?_ ”

“ _The queen wants you to remain there for the time being. Please wait patiently._ ”

The psionic link cut out. Guess that conversation was over.

First Kerrigan wanted her gone, and now she was under house arrest. And yet, the implications were intriguing. Nova’s head swam with possibilities, but she quickly backed them down. If there was anything she’d learned in her life, it was to never assume.

She stood and walked around. Kerrigan’s room was unlike any other she’d seen in the leviathan. Had it always existed, or was it “grown” when Kerrigan moved in to suit her needs? It was certainly small; the central dining area in Nova’s Griffin was larger than this. Most of the space was populated by inflated gas sacs and pustules or growths of unknown purpose. Even observing them psionically revealed no useable information, and she didn’t bother trying her scanner. No one in the Dominion had ever seen anything like this. This was the sanctuary of the Queen of the Zerg.

Nova leaned on a wall, the veins scaling it coursing under her hand. Such a vibrant, living space, and only one person had ever inhabited it. Nova considered it less like moving into an apartment, and more like building a shack for yourself in the woods, if the woods were the organic structures of a massive, space-faring organism. If nothing else, this belonged to Kerrigan alone. And Nova was in it.

She permitted herself a smile, knuckles pressed to her chin. Perhaps persistence did pay off. She hoped this wasn’t the only reward.

While most of the walls in the room were uneven fleshy surfaces containing crisscross maps of veins and tubes, one of them, the one she observed last night, was covered in sacs hanging from the wall like gas bags. Each of them had hatches similar to the one that served as the entrance to this room, only hand-sized. Without a second thought, Nova plunged her hand into the nearest one.

Her glove prevented her from feeling anything with great detail, but it seemed there were objects held in here, hard and possibly synthetic. She grasped one and pulled it through the fleshy flaps. Strings of fluid hung from the object, but it was clearly terran. It was heavy and metallic; a piston, likely part of a vehicle. Black burned into its hard exterior, assumedly from an explosion. This mechanism had served its purpose. Nova replaced it and felt through another sac.

This one had something far more alien, some form of tubing, likely protoss. Nova attempted scanning it with her visor, but the interference within Kerrigan’s chamber prevented her from seeing more than an error message. She guessed it was from a probe drone, or something similarly small and compact, but she wasn’t familiar enough with protoss technology to know for sure.

Sac after sac had a number of useless objects, nothing of utilitarian value, and nothing that resembled personal relics or heirlooms like necklaces or even dog togs. Just pieces and scraps from buildings or vehicles, weapons, and even a shard from a shattered pylon. And judging by the damage dealt to each, these had been destroyed by Kerrigan herself. Many bore scars from her bony wings, had been shorted by her psionic shocks, or simply crushed and torn apart by her raw strength.

Nova never saw Kerrigan as a woman to hold onto any object, even something useful. Zerg had everything they needed built into themselves. Nova figured it was one of the specific benefits of being a zerg. And yet, here was a wall coated with… trophies? They certainly appeared as such. A pylon crystal shard had no value, especially to the organic zerg. All these objects were scrap and debris from battle. Their only value was sentimental. Nova thumbed an SCV claw in her hand. Kerrigan had battle trophies.

“I see Ghosts haven’t changed.”

Nova flung the hunk of metal across the room in a fit as her arm flew in front of her. She twisted around to a grinning Kerrigan, standing tall with her hands on her hips.

“Scared?” She raised a brow.

“Holy shit; don’t sneak up on me.”

“I thought Ghosts were aware of their environments. At least I was. Shame you’re weaker, now.”

“Don’t be absurd. This room is wreaking havoc on my analysis systems. Otherwise, I’d have seen you coming from three clicks.” Nova relaxed her arms, but her body still felt tense, a cold sweat on her brow. She was used to knowing her surroundings intimately. No one got the jump on her. But Kerrigan’s room was a dead zone.

“It’s impolite to snoop through a person’s belongings.”

“I’m amazed you _have_ belongings. I thought zerg just… were.”

“Oh,” Kerrigan said. “We are.” Her eyes turned to the wall, scanning it up and down slowly. There was something hidden in her eyes. Nova expected pride, but instead saw something almost deflated, small. “These aren’t anything. Relics from war. When the leviathan dies, I won’t remorse over these.”

“ _When_?”

“Only a fool believes death isn’t inevitable.” She stared at the wall for a few more silent moments.

“Oh, um, I think I need to leave,” Nova said.

Kerrigan faced her, eyes hardening as she turned from the wall. “Of course. Your team already left. We’re warping to their system now, so it won’t be long. No need to worry your pretty little head.”

Nova grimaced. “I’m more than a pretty face.”

Kerrigan smirked before her mouth returned to a hard line. “Indeed.” She walked away, heading towards the entrance to the room.

Nova followed, glancing about the room. It didn’t seem to change when Kerrigan was present. Probably another reason Nova didn’t see her coming.

They both stood below the meaty, pulsating flaps that kept Nova trapped down here for so long.

“So, is there a ladder, or am I meant to bring my harpoon cable?”

“You’re meant to be zerg.”

“Well, sorry, but I had to bring you back here.”

Kerrigan glanced down, blinking. Looking up, she held out her hand.

Her hand was human, as much as a corpse’s was. The back was all bones and stretched tissue, while the palm looked more like decayed flesh than a woman’s hand. Sharp, three-inch long nails protruded from her finger tips. They were tough as talons; Nova had seen them tear through organic matter like wet paper. The skin was a sickly grey, a dull tone in comparison to the browns and purples across the rest of her body. Nova only blinked at the extended claw.

“Well? Do you wish to leave, Nova Terra?”

Nova looked up. “Oh! Yes! God, yes!” When she grabbed the hand, she was pulled with a yelp into Kerrigan’s arms. Her back pressed against Kerrigan’s chest, a ribbed arm pulling over her mid-section. She breathed softly, ignoring the position she was currently in. Kerrigan’s long, bony wings stretched up and above them, the hatch in the ceiling peeling apart. The wings latched onto the floor above then began to contract. Nova’s feet left the ground, her body supported only by Kerrigan’s arms. Panic flashed in her mind, unease spreading from her dangling feet all the way up her spine.

“Calm down,” Kerrigan spoke softly, close enough that Nova felt the breath on her ear.

She eased, but still clung to Kerrigan’s arm as they rose.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. Kerrigan lifted them onto the landing and deposited Nova into the darkened hallway, Kerrigan’s room sealing below them.

Kerrigan walked away in the direction Nova had brought them last night. She jogged after the zerg queen, slowing to a walk a half-step behind her. The hall was narrow and dark, and Nova didn’t want to fall into another hole.

She assumed this system’s sun was on them now, but there was no way to tell. As they traveled through the leviathan, everything was the same as yesterday. Drones scurried about in hoards, mutalisks flapped through the air, ultralisks shook the ground as they stomped in the distance. Kerrigan paid them no mind as she led Nova down narrow passageways and wide canals, all manner of zerg passing them. Nova had fought zerg for years, and had now been allied with them for months, but she could never get over how remarkable they were. Disgusting, but remarkable.

As they entered a new chamber, the smell hit her first. It was like the scent of the evolution chamber where Abathur resided, but much worse. Bad eggs and diseased flesh, but not decayed. And something almost like rotten vegetables, and bile. The chamber was a massive room with a green mist shrouding everything. Something screeched far away, and silhouettes dotted the scenery. Up close were pools filled with eggs, larvae, and all other forms of developmental zerg. These were the spawning pools.

Kerrigan stopped by a medium-sized pool, roughly the radius of a terran siege-tank, and waved her hand. Nova approached in time to see a larva curl up and expand. The sacs on its sides grew out, farther and farther, until the sacs merged and enveloped the larvae twenty times over. The external skin was foggy and made it impossible to detect what was inside. An egg.

Kerrigan crossed her arms, ignoring Nova’s presence as the blonde looked at her, then back to the egg.

She reached out psionically and picked up certain organic elements. She recognized the mineral compositions, but couldn’t relate it to any organism she knew. Of course, she wasn’t familiar with the molecules that made up a zerg, so it could have been something as common as a zergling in the pod. It undulated softly, almost like it was breathing. Kerrigan sighed as it popped, the skin peeling back and a thick, musty liquid congealing out.

Nova kneeled, hand perched on her knees, and watched as a small, eyeless, winged zerg perked up and stretched its tiny wings. It looked like a fat caterpillar with webbed wings, and they didn’t appear capable of folding up. Nova touched it psionically and found gas sacs, air bags, and other elements to make it lightweight and capable of flight despite its bizarre structure. The chemicals inside it were also volatile, capable of violent reaction if even a single cell wall was ruptured. A scourge drone. It squealed, shook itself dry, and launched into the air. Within seconds, it was gone, vanished into the distant fog.

Nova stood, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She turned to see Kerrigan watching her. Did she detect a blush in her cheeks?

Kerrigan walked farther in, arms crossed. They observed other births, a hydralisk, a zergling, and watched larger beasts like ultralisks and aberrations up close, towering above them as they stalked the vast chamber. They even encountered some spikier, primal zerg, traveling in packs and avoiding Kerrigan’s brood as they navigated the toxic pools.

Nova wondered if they were going to meet up with her team, but every time she meant to bring it up, they met another incredible sight. The smell even stopped bothering her, somehow reminding her of her mom’s flower garden. It wasn’t a well-kept garden, and often housed colonies of insects, but the smell still took her back to a simpler time.

They stopped at the largest pool in the room, so vast Nova couldn’t see the end of it. Gases and fumes rose from it like steam from a tea kettle. Larvae broke the surface, then quickly submerged themselves as they swam through the chemical bath. Mutalisks emerged a click away, flapping their awkward wings to shake fluids from them before taking off in a pack.

Kerrigan sat on a hump of flesh that poked out from the floor. Another was beside her, though a little lower, and Nova sat on it. It bounced slightly before settling.

She pressed her knees together, elbows balanced on them, and held her chin in her palms. She sighed, glad to finally be sitting.

“Disgusting, isn’t it?” Kerrigan asked.

Nova rose an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?” She said.

“This isn’t even the worst the zerg have to offer. Primal zerg, Abathur’s mutated brood, my own ‘ascension.’ Zerg are nasty, disgusting monsters, borne from putrid bile and mucus. The fluids made in embryo sacs are acidic to human skin. If you were to sleep in here, you wouldn’t wake up.”

“That’s awful self-deprecating, coming from the master of all this.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” Kerrigan wrapped her arms around her midsection, eyes cast to the pool at her feet.

It bubbled softly, steam and fumes hissing from the broken foam. Anything beneath the surface was hidden in a murky haze.

Nova reached out with her hand, touching Kerrigan’s arm. She didn’t react. Nova could barley make out her expression from this position, down and to the right of her. The edge of her mouth was turned down, and her eye distant. Nova squeezed the soft, violet muscle of her forearm. Kerrigan glanced down.

“You’re not a monster.”

Kerrigan sighed, looking back at the pool. “Arcturus left me to _die_. Sometimes, I wish I had.”

Nova pulled her hand back. “You shouldn’t say that.”

“And why not?”

“Because life is a miracle.”

Kerrigan scoffed. “Didn’t know hippies came back into fashion after I left.”

“I know why you showed me all of this. You want me to see you as a monster, as something to be exterminated and destroyed, but I can’t. It’s life. Gross, festering, smelly life. And you’re more separated from it than you think.”

Kerrigan faced her, eyes scanning her face. “I suppose you can believe what you want to. Doesn’t change the facts. I’m a monster, even Jim said s-”

“Who the fuck cares what _Raynor_ said? He’s a pompous vigilante with authority issues.”

Nova swore she heard a giggle.

“I prefer to see things the way Artanis and the Daelaam do. You aren’t your past, including your time as a Ghost. Sure, our histories are our foundations, but they don’t define us. You’re here now, propagating life, defending the nations of our galaxy, giving a dumb blonde a God-damned tour of your leviathan. Let your actions now define you. And, what I see isn’t monstrous. It’s you.”

Kerrigan gazed back at the pool, an ultralisk stomping from the waters at a distant shore. I roared before trudging into the mire beyond. She sighed, standing up.

“We should be arriving at the system soon, and you can rejoin your unit. Should take a shower, too.”

Before Nova could respond, Kerrigan walked away.

\---

The bridge of the leviathan was much smaller than Nova had predicted. The ceiling was close, pillars of flesh stretching up to it in strands. A great hole opened on the far side of the room, akin to a giant maw, allowing individuals to see through it into the scenery beyond, which currently consisted of warp space. Nova assumed there was some sort of psionic barrier that prevented oxygen from leaving their lungs. A single pool, like a small spawning pool, rested in the center of the room. It didn’t contain any larvae, and its chemical compounds were different from those in the breeding chamber.

Various “people” filled the small space. Zagara and Dehaka stood to the left, Dehaka staring outside the maw and Zagara watching her queen’s every movement. A feminine-looking worm hung from the ceiling to the right, and Nova recognized her face as Izsha, the zerg secretary she’d spoken with psionically. A little way from her was the infested her Stukov, smoking a cigar Nova knew had been shipped in by Swann. They’d apparently hit it off on one of their missions some time ago and now shared resources, terran cigars being one of them. Nova wondered if he drank, too.

Kerrigan walked up to the miniature spawning pool. “Izsha, how much time?”

“We should arrive at the system in five minutes.”

“No time like the present. Dehaka, you’ll take care of this one. Their forces are reportedly aggressive. You know what to do.”

“I will consume, I will grow, I will evolve,” Dehaka clicked, his multiple eyes blinking inconsistently.

“Stukov, what did I say about smoking in the neural center?”

“Something I didn’t hear, I’m sure,” he said, inhaling sharply. His eyes closed as he expelled the smoke through the holes in his cheeks.

“My queen, I know better not to question you,” Zagara started.

“Then don’t,” Kerrigan said.

“But, there is a terran on the leviathan.” Her voice was cold and analytical, no hint of emotion or disdain.

Nova rubbed her arms as she shrunk into a wall on the opposite side of the room from Zagara. She never liked the big bug, anyway.

“She is a guest and will be leaving soon. Besides, her being here isn’t necessarily detrimental to anything we’re doing. Feel free to keep an eye on her, though.”

Nova sucked in a breath.

“Yes, my queen.” Zagara’s claws clacked together as her insectoid sight shifted to Nova.

“U-um, Kerrie?” Nova said.

Everyone in the room faced her. Kerrigan’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Kerrie.”

“Nova?” Her voice lowered.

“Yes, Kerrie?”

Stukov laughed, holding his cigar as ashes dripped from its neglected tip. “You’re looking for a death sentence, little girl!”

“Hold your tongue, human,” Zagara said.

Kerrigan sighed. “No, it’s fine, whatever, I don’t care, call me whatever you like,” she said, stoking her temples. “You’ll be out of here any minute. Izsha?”

The warp outside ceased, motion stopping instantly and the image outside replaced with a peaceful looking planet in the dark of space, hung like a tree ornament, surrounded by tiny lights.

To the left side of their view was a small terran fleet, Nova’s garrison. Her heart lifted. Home, friends, hot food, a hotter shower, and a nice soft bed that doesn’t have its own heartbeat. Then she looked back at Kerrigan and her heart fell back down. Kerrigan would be stuck with these imbeciles, surrounded by her own creations that she viewed as little more than disease-spreading cockroaches.

“Kerrie?”

Kerrigan’s back faced her. “Izsha, tell her where the exit is. I will see you in the future, Nova.”

Nova looked around the room. Zagara stared at her maliciously, Stukov and Dehaka ignored her, and Izsha didn’t even look as images flooded Nova’s mind. And just like that, her adventure was over. Time to go back home.

“You know how to contact me, Kerrigan.”

Kerrigan said nothing as Nova left the room.


End file.
